Integral turbo-compressor wave engine

ABSTRACT

The present engine includes a heating chamber to produce relatively high temperature, high pressure gases; an intake chamber to provide relatively low temperature, low pressure gases which initially act as scavenging gases; an exhaust chamber into which the spent hot gases are expelled by the scavenging gases; a compressed cool gas chamber into which the compressed cool gases flow with partial expansion; and at least one hot gas expansion outlet or duct into which the high pressure hot gases expand. In addition the present engine includes a compressor-expander rotor having a plurality of rotor chambers, with each of said rotor chambers having an inlet opening and a nozzle with an outlet opening. The compressor-expander rotor is disposed to rotate adjacent to said intake chamber and said heating chamber, to accept into said rotor chambers, cool gases from the former followed by hot gases from the latter. Termination of the flow of cool intake gases from each rotor chamber nozzle outlet initiates a shock wave at the rotor chamber nozzle outlet. A second, normally stronger, shock wave is initiated at the inlet of each rotor chamber as it is exposed to the hot gases flowing from the heating chamber. Each rotor chamber is designed so that before this second shock wave (which is set up by the hot gases entering a rotor chamber already filled with cool gas) reaches the end of its excursion toward the rotor chamber outlet, the shock wave encounters the constricted area, or nozzle, of the rotor chamber. As a result this second shock wave is reflected from the rotor chamber nozzle toward the inlet of the rotor chamber. As a result of this reflected shock wave, the final pressure of both the cool gases and the hot gases within the rotor chamber is very high and is substantially higher than the initial pressure of hot gases flowing from the heating chamber. The rotor housing is designed such that ideally as the reflected shock wave reaches the inlet of the rotor chamber, this inlet is sealed as a result of rotation of the rotor. This well-timed closure prevents expansion of the shock-compressed hot gases back into the heating chamber. As indicated above, as the reflected shock wave traverses the rotor chamber from the constricted section or nozzle, the pressure of both the hot and cool gases in the rotor chamber is substantially increased as compared with the pressure of the hot gases which enter the rotor chambers. The high pressure cool gases expand through the nozzles, pass through an outlet port and through a duct to the heating chamber. Then when the rotor chamber nozzle outlet is exposed to a hot gas outlet port in the rotor housing, the discharge velocity of the hot gases held therein is also very high. Thus by reaction to the discharge of both cool and hot gases, the compressor-expander rotor itself is caused to do work. The present engine may further optionally include movable sections in the side walls of the rotor housing which can be used to adjust the sizes and mean positions of the inlet and outlet ports, as illustrated for the ports Connected with the heating chamber and the compressed cool gas chamber. By this means the efficiency of the engine can be controlled, when the speed or the rate of acceleration or deceleration of the compressor-expander rotor is changed. Further, the present engine optionally includes a plurality of reentry paths through the rotor housing and a plurality of recharging-reaction stages through the compressorexpander rotor which enable the engine to recharge the rotor chambers repeatedly, thereby efficiently utilizing the energy of the high pressure hot gases in stages to produce useful work.

Coleman, .11. et al. I

3,811,796 [451 May 11,1971

1 41 I INTEGRAL TURBO-COMPRESSOR WAVE ENGINE [75] Inventors: Richard R.Coleman, .lr., Villanova;

I Helmut E. Weber, Valley Forge,

' both of Pa.

[73] Assignee: General Power Corporation, Paoli,

22 Filed: Oct. 21, 1971 21 App1.No.: 191,410

[52] US. Cl. 417/64, 60/39.45

[51] Int/Cl. F04b 11/00, F020 3/02 [58] Field-0f Search... 417/64;60/3945 [56] References Cited I I UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,904,245 9/1959Pearson ..'..i. 417/64 2,759,660 8/1956 Jcndrassi-k 417/64 2,399,3944/1946 Seippel 417/64 X 2,864,237 12/1958 Coleman,J 60/3945 3,043,1067/1962 Coleman, Jr 417/64 X 3,164,318 1/1961 Barnes et a1; 417/642,970,745 2/1961 Berchtold 417/64 2,461,186 2/1949 Seippel 417/642,904,242 9/1959 Pearson 417/64 2,867,981 1/1959 Berchtold. 417/64 X2,970,745 2/1961 Berchtold 417/64' [FOREIGN PATENTS oR APPLICATIONS921,686 3/1963 Great Britain....'...-. 417/64 744,162 2/1956 GreatBritain... 417/64 868,101 417/64 5/1961 Great Britain PrimaryEXaminer--C. .lfHusar Assistant Examiner-Leonard Smith Attorney, Agent,or Firm-William E. Cleaver [57] ABSTRACT The present engine includes aheating chamber to pro? duce relatively high temperature, high pressuregases;

an intake chamber to provide relatively low temperature, low pressuregases which initiallyact as scavengchambers having an'inlet opening anda nozzle with an outlet opening. The compressor-expander rotor isdisposed to rotate adjacent to'said intake chamber and said heatingchamber, to accept into said rotor chambers, cool gases from the formerfollowed by hot gases from the latter. Termination of the flow of coolintake gases frorneach rotor chamber nozzle outlet initiates a shockwave at the rotor chamber nozzle outlet. A second, normally stronger,shock wave is initiated at the inlet of each rotor chamber as it isexposed to the hot gases flowing from the heating chamber. Each rotorchamber is designed so that before this second shock wave (which is setup by the hot gases entering a rotorchamber already filled with coolgas) reaches the end of its excursion toward the rotor chamber outlet,the shock wave encounters the constricted area, or nozzle, of the rotorchamber. As a result this second shock wave is reflected from the rotorchamber nozzle toward the inlet of the rotor chamber. As a result ofreflected shock wave traverses the rotor chamber from the constrictedsection or nozzle, the pressure of both the hot and cool gases in therotor chamber is I substantially increased as compared with the pressureof the hot gases which enter the rotor chambers. The high pressure coolgases expand through the nozzles, pass through an outlet port andthrough a duct to the heating chamberfThen when the rotor chamber nozzleoutlet is exposed to a hot gas outlet port in the rotor housing, thedischarge velocity of the hot gases held therein is also very high. Thusby reaction to the discharge of both cool and hot gases, thecompressorexpander rotor itself is caused to do work.

The present engine may further optionally include movable sections inthe side walls of the rotor housing which can be used to adjust thesizes and mean positions of the inlet and outlet ports, as illustratedfor the ports connected with the heating chamber and the compressed coolgas chamber. By this means the efficiency of the engine can becontrolled, when the speed or the rate of acceleration or decelerationof the. compressor-expander rotor is changed. Further, the presentengine optionally includes a plurality of reentry paths through therotor housing and a plurality of recharging-reaction stages through thecompressor-expanderrotor which enable the engine to recharge the rotorchambers repeatedly, thereby efficiently utilizing the energy of thehigh pressure hot gases in stages to produce useful work.

30 Claims, 23 Drawing Figures PATENTEUmz: m4

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' sum 7 w 7 I v INTEG A TURBO-COMPRESSOR WAVE ENGINE DESCRIPTION Thepresent invention relates to a rotor'type heat engine, and moreparticularly to an engine with a com pressor-expander rotor whichutilizes direct and reflected shock waves to effect high compression ofgases used with the engine. The present invention also provides a meansfor utilizing these high pressure gases to perform useful work; and allcompression and expansion functions can be carried out on a singlerotor.

BACKGROUND It is difficult to make adirect comparison between thepresent engine and other engines, in order to give the reader someinsight into the improvements, 'because it is our belief that no otherengine works on the combination of direct and reflected shock waves.Certain pressure exchanger devices and supercharger devices employ adirect shock wave principle, such a device being the Brown BoveriCmprex." However, pressures developed in these prior art devices fallconsiderably below the pressures developed in the present engine. Inaddition, the Comprex is not an engine in the sense that it does not doany useful work other than compression. In the Comprex, the hot gasesare used to produce the final stage of compression, after which the hotgases are used to drive downstream turbines. Nei

,ther' the Comprex nor its successors utilized rotor chamber nozzles incombination with reflected shock waves toachieve high compression.

I SUMMARY The present engine has a number of advantages over the priorart turbine type enginesor devices, and it also has many advantagesoverthe widely used internal combustion engine. Because ofthe configurationofthe rotor chambers and the housing encasing the rotor, the presentengine is able to developa reflected shock wave during the compressionphase. This reflected shock wave greatly increases the pressure of thegases within the rotor chambers and permits efficient operation at highro'tor speeds. This high rotor speed makes possible further increases inoperating pressures as compared with prior art devices. The very highpressures and temperatures developed in the rotor chamber gases of thepresent engine provide the basis for more torque and hencehigherspeeific power from a turbinetype engine than has heretofore beenrealized. Further,

' whichi I c FIG. 1 is a pictorial view, partially sectionalized,

2 temal combustion process makes efficient use of simple fuels withoutundesirable additives such as lead compounds. Furthermore, the fuel maybe of low volatility, thereby greatly reducing or eliminatingenvironmental contamination resulting from evaporation of fuel duringtransfer, in storage, or in vehicle fuel tanks.

In addition the present engine, because of movable port control sectionsof the housing, operates efficiently at different speeds. Achievingefficient variable speed operation has been one of the major problems inthe attempt to use turbine engines in such applications as automobilesand other mobile equipment.

The objects and features of the present invention will be betterunderstood by considering the following description taken in conjunctionwith the drawings in showing a part 'of one embodiment of the presentengine; v

FIG. 2 is a linearized view of one sector of a simple.

embodiment of the engine having fixed ports, showing a reflected'shoekwave as it is developed, together with other shock waves and gasinterfaces relevant to compression; 7

FIG. 3 is a linearized schematic view of a device-similar totheone-shown in FIG. 1 with more of the overall .system depicted, andillustrating a preferred'embodi- 'rnent of movable blocks forcontrolling the sizes and mean positions of selected in the rotorhousing;

FIG. 4 is a linearized view of part of an alternative embodiment of thepresent engine, showing a more complete engine in diagramatic form; italso has movable blocks to permit controlled variation of the sizes andmean positions of selected inlet andoutlet ports in inlet ports andoutlet ports waves developed therein;

the configuration of the rotor chambers,.with the vari-.

ous nozzle embodiments, permits the compressorexpander rotor to douseful work in and of itself, while providing the flexibility of usingthe expanded gases therefrom to drive downstream turbines if that bedesired. The present engine further provides means for sor-expanderrotor chambers so that the available energy of these very high pressuregases can be more completely utilized by expansion and reaction throughthe rotor chamber nozzles before the working gases are exhausted (opencycle) or recirculated (closed cycle).

In open-cycle, fuel-burning versions of this engine, thecombustionprocess, being external to the rotor, can-be made so efficientthat the exhaust contains virtually no carbon monoxide or'unburned fuel.The 'ex- FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C show three views of a section of the rotorwherein the rotor chambers are shaped helically;

FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C show three views of a section of the rotor whereinthe rotor chambers are shaped helicoidally;

FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C show three views-of a section of the rotor whereinthe rotor chambers are shaped spireentry of these high ,pressure'gasesinto the compresrally; v I

FIGS. 10A and 10B depict illustrative alternative embodiments of thenozzle portionsof the rotor chambers",

FIGS. 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D, 11B, and 11F depict illustrative arrangementsof operating sectors of the present engine with respect to the axis ofrotation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Consider first FIGS. 1 and 4, and in particularFIG.

4, because more of the details of the system are depieted in FIG. 4. Itwill be noted that the present engine includes an intake chamber 11which provides relatively low temperature, low pressure input gasthrough cool gas inlet port 12, subdivided by vanes 13 into portopenings 14. Although various types and mixtures of input gases may beused, particularly in closed-cycle systems, it is anticipated that inopen-cycle systems the low temperature, low pressure input gas willnormally be air taken from the surrounding atmosphere. The air will besupplied to the intake chamber 11 by the blower or compressor, 15. Theblower 15 is driven by the shaft 16, by which it may in one embodimentbe connected to the compressor-expander rotor 17 either directly or bygearing or other means. In alternate embodiments the blower may bedriven through a variable speed drive (step-wise or continuouslyvariable) or by an independent turbine wheel or by other similar meansto allow control of the air (or other cool gas) supply independently ofrotor speed. Blower 15 may be any kind of pumping device which draws inair from the atmosphere or which draws in cool recirculated gas inclosed-cycle embodiments and fills the intake chamber 11. Guide vanes 13are included to provide the proper amount of pre-rotation in theinflowing cool gases. These vanes may be fixed, in the case of constantspeed applications, or variable, to permit appropriate prerotationangles over a range of operating speeds in the case of variable speedapplications.

The low temperature, low pressure input gas in the intake chamber 11passes through port 12, with openings 14 formed by the prerotation vanes13, to scavenge or flush out the spent gases from the rotor chambers 18through exhaust port 19 into the exhaust chamber 20. This scavengingprocess occurs as each of the rotor chambers has its respective inletopening, such as opening 21, exposed to the intake port 12 and itsoutlet exposed to exhaust port 19.

It will also be noted in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4 that the present engineprovides a heating chamber 22. The heating chamber 22 is shown in moredetail in FIG. 4 with a fuel injector 24 located therein as well as astartup ignition system 25. It should be understood that'any of a numberof forms of heat source may be used with this engine; for instance thegases in the heating chamber-22 may be heated by combustion, as will beprincipally described in connection with this specification, but theheat source for heating the working gases may also be a nuclear reactor,a radioactive heater, a solar heating device, or any of the numerousother means for heating gases in a chamber. In the present descriptionit is to be understood that the fuel injector 24 is connected to thestart-up control device 26 as well as to the source of fuel supply. Forpurposes of discussion we will consider that heating occurs as a resultof combustion in air and that the fuel supply is an oil such as dieselfuel which is atomized or vaporized in the fuel injector 24 in a fashionsimilar to that ofa conventional gas turbine combustor. The torchmechanism, or ignition mechanism 25, provides the pilot flame to thefuel coming from the fuel injector 24 and hence there is a burning ofthe fuel inside the heating chamber 22 which contains both the fuelinjector 24 and the ignition device 25. The ignition device 25 is shownalso to be controlled by the start up control 26. It should beunderstood that the ignition system may also optionally have an electricheater or other type of heater which pre-heats the fuel to facilitatecombustion. A typical 4 fuel control system which can be employed is theGeneral Electric T-58 Engine Fuel Control System.

In FIGS. 1 through 9 it will be noted that the rotor 17 has a pluralityof blades 27 or other types of dividers or partitions which may have anumber of configurations. As will be discussed later in connection withFIGS. 7(A-C), 8(A-C) and 9(AC) these blades or dividers may be formed sothat there is created an axial flow, a radial flow, or a mixed flowmachine.

The cavities between the rotor blades or dividers are referred tohereinafter as rotor chambers. The rotor chambers as mentioned earlierare identified as chambers 18 in FIGS. 1 through 10. Each rotor chamber18 is bounded by two rotor blades 27 on two sides and by a rotor hub 28on a third side. The rotor hub can best be seen in FIGS. 1, 7(A-C),8(A-C) and 9(A-C) and forms the base of each rotor chamber. The hub 28is cylindrical in shape for helically formed chambers, disc shaped forspirally formed chambers, and conically shaped for helicoidally formedchambers as shown in FIGS. 7(A-C), 8(AC) and 9(A-C).

As can be determined from an examination of FIGS. 1-6, thecompressor-expander rotor 17 is enclosed within a stationary housinggenerally identified as 29 whose walls lie adjacent to the paths of theinlet openings and the outlet openings of the rotor chambers. Each rotorchamber is bounded on the outside, i.e., on the side which lies oppositethe rotor hub, by either another wall of the housing 29 or by a rotatingshroud 30 affixed to the blades. This shroud is not shown in FIGS. 1, 2,3, or 4, but can be seen in FIGS. 7(A-C), 8(A-C), and 9(A-C). Forpurposes of this description the openings in the stationary housingwhich connect the various stationary gas chambers with the rotorchambers will be identified as ports. The port 12, which connects theintake chamber 11 with the rotor chambers, has been previouslydescribed. It will also be noted in the various FIGS. l-6 that there isa hot gas port 31 leading from the heating chamber 22, an exhaust port19 leading to exhaust chamber 20, a cool compressed air port 32, leadingto the cool compressed gas chamber 33, a plurality of hightemperaturegas expansion ports 34E, 35E, 36E and 37E, and a plurality of hot gasreentry ports 34R, 35R, 36R and 37R. It should be understood that theclearance between the rotor 17, including rotor blades 27 and optionalshroud 30, and the stationary housing 29 is small enough on all sides toprevent any appreciable gas flow between adjacent rotor chambers, orfrom the rotor chambers radially inward past the hub 28, or from therotor chambers radially outward past the optional shroud 30.Nevertheless, this clearance between the rotor 17, and the rotor housing29 is sufiicient to permit unrestricted rotation of the rotor at alloperating temperatures. In FIGS. 5 and 6 the clearance between the rotorand the stationary housing is shown as a single line to indicate thatthe clearance is very close.

Each rotor chamber inlet 21 will in general have approximately the samecross sectional area as the main portion of the rotor chamber. Theoutlet of each rotor chamber is normally constricted to form aconverging rotor chamber nozzle 38. Alternatively, as depicted in FIG.108 each nozzle may take the shape-of a constricted section 39 followedby an expanded section 40 to form a converging-diverging nozzle 41 whichwill be discussed hereinafter. The minimal cross sectional area of therotor chamber nozzle is less than that of the main portion of the rotorchamber. The ratio of the crosssectional areaof the nozzle throat tothat of the rotor chamber proper is chosen to be small enough to produce,a reflected shock wave as already mentioned and as described in moredetail hereinafter. The compressot-expander rotor 17 is disposed torotate adjacent to the intake chamber 11, the heating chamber 22, theexhaust chamber 20, and the cool compressed gas chamber 33. The rotorchambers of the rotor accept cool gases from the intake chamber, actinginitially as a scavenging gas, followed by hot gases from the heatingchamber. It should be understood that the engine can be equipped withmeans to accomplish only one such cycle per revolution, utilizing allthe rotor chambers about the periphery of the compressor-expander rotorin the course of performing the one cycle. On the other hand, there mayhe means making up the engine which will accomplish a plurality of suchcycles in one revolution. In those embodiments in which there is aplurality of operating cycles accomplished within one completerevolution of the rotor, the means for accomplishing each single cycleis defined by an arc configuration operating sector (see FIGS. 11Athrough 11F). Each such range of speeds. Nonetheless, for clarity,wherever possible the same identification numerals are used in FIG. 2that are used in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Consider for the moment that there is hot gas flowing throughthe lastpassage 37R of the reentry system (the details of which will beconsidered hereinafter). The hot gas flows into the rotor chambers 18and the expansion therefrom out of the nozzles 38 provides the lastremaining thrust for the cycle. It should also be under stood in thisimmediateportion of the description that the rotor chamber blades 27actually are located around the entire rotor 17 but are left out of thedrawing alongside the cold gas intake port 12 and the hot gas port 31 inorder to leave that area clear forthe explanation of the initial andreflected shock wave phenomena. Except for wall friction effects, theprogressive, non-instantaneous exposure of the inlets and outlets ofeach rotor chamber to the various inlet and outlet ports tends to makethe gas interfaces, shock waves, reflected shock waves, and expansionwaves within each rotor chamber parallel to the orientations shown inFIGS. 2 and 6.

are, within which one complete operating cycle occurs,

is referred to hereinafter as a sector. The shock wave engine may thushave a single sector, or it may have a plurality of sectors arrangedabout the axis of the comeither equal or unequal arcs about theperiphery of the rotor, and they may be arranged symmetrically orasymmetrically about the axis.

OPERATlON OF ONE CYCLE The steps that occur in one operating cycle,i.e., those that occur during the time that a rotor chamber of thecompressor-expander rotor passes through one sector, are describedherein at design point operation, i.e., at optimum speed for a certainfuel burning rate, hot gas temperature and external load. At otherspeeds or temperatures the arrival and departure of the shock waves,reflected shock waves and expansion waves may vary from the timing asdescribed below. These conditions are termed *intermediate" operations.The resulting sequence of events, however, will be substantially thesame, although flows, pressures, temperatures, and power may vary fromthose characteristic of design point operation. There is a multiplicityof shock waves (direct and reflected) and expansion'waves that occur.

within the rotor chambers as consequences of port openings and closuresduring the compression process and during the subsequent hot gasexpansion process.

. understood that FIG. 2 shows a structure which is simpler than thoseshown in FIGS. 3 and 4 in order to present more clearly thephenonmena ofthe initial and reflected shock waves as well as an early expansionwave. For this reason the structure shown in FIG. 2 has no movableblocks in the inlet and outlet ports which are necessary to enable moreefficient operation over a Consider then that initially the rotorchambers 18 contain expanded or residual hot gas which remains from theend of the preceding operating cycle. As the compressor-expander rotor17 rotates (or appears to move upward as considered in the linearizeddrawing of FIG. 2) the rotor chambers 18 have their inletopeningsexposed to the intake chamber 11, through cool gas inlet port12, and as a result the cool gas, air in this description, is passedinto the rotor chambers 18. It will be recalled fromthe earlierdiscussion that the cool gas in chamber 11 is supplied by the blower l5;hence, it is at the same-or slightly higher pressure than the residualhot gas remaining in the rotor chambers. The cool air enters the rotorchambers, initiating a scavenging process, which drives the residual hotgases through the rotor chamber nozzles 38 and out through the exhaustport 19 into the exhaust chamber 20.

The interface between the-cool gas entering from the intake chamber 11and the residual hot gases in the rotor chambers 18 is shown by thedot-dash line 42 and will be referred to hereinafter as the cool gas/hotgas interface 42. It will be noted that the interface 42 has a change oforientation which commences at the en- The interface 42 depicted in FIG.2 shows the apparent stationary position of the interface fromthe'standpoint -of an observer on the rotor housing 29. Despite theapparent fixed position of the interface, the gases on both sides of theinterface and the interface 42 itself are moving at high velocitythrough the rotor chambers and the rotor chamber nozzles. Despite thehigh velocities of these gases through the rotor chambers and the rotorchamber nozzles the interface 42 is made to appear stationary by therotation of the rotor.

At the time when the interface 42 reaches the nozzle outlet, or shortlythereafter, the scavenging and intake portions of the operating cycleare complete and continued rotation of the compressor-expander rotor 17causes the nozzle outlets to be closed by the wall 43 of the housing 29.The closure of the rotor nozzles causes the cool gas which entered fromintake chamber 11 through inlet port 12 to be brought to rest. Thisstoppage initiates a shock wave 44 which is propagated upstream towardthe rotor chamber inlet. The cool gas continues to flow from the intakechamber 11 into the rotor chambers while within each rotor chamber whichhas been sealed off by the wall 43 there is a shock wave approaching therotor chamber inlet. When the shock wave 44 in a rotor chamber reachesthe rotor chamber inlet, the timing of the rotation of the rotor 17 issuch that the rotor chamber inlet is sealed by the wall 45. This closureprevents the reverse flow of the higher pressure cool gas 46 (compressedby the shock wave 44) back into the intake chamber 11 and also avoidshaving an undesirable expansion wave reflected into the rotor chamber.This well-timed closure maximizes the amount of cool gas trapped in therotor chamber. At this point of the operation the cool gas in the rotorchamber is partially compressed and the pressure of the partiallycompressed cool gas 46 is higher than that of the intake gas 47 which isentering from intake chamber 11.

In the case of an open cycle engine of very simple design in which boththe intake chamber and the exhaust ports are at atmospheric pressure,the scavenging and intake phases as summarized above could be made tooccur as a result of the pumping effect of moving helical, spiral, orhelicoidal chambers of a compressorexpander rotor. Thispumping effectcan be utilized with particular efficiency in conjunction with the con-'verging-diverging nozzle embodiment (to be described hereinafter) wherethe diverging section of the nozzle acts as a sub-sonic diffuser duringscavenging. In the more'complex embodiments of the present invention,the pressure in the intake chamber 11 may be raised appreciably abovethat in the exhaust port by means of a mechanically driven blower 15, asmentioned earlier, or by a turbo-supercharger, by a ram or compressiondevice, as used in an aircraft, or by combinations of the foregoing, orby other suitable means.

Thus far we have considered the scavenging of the residual hot gases aswell as the intake and partial compression of the cool gas, i.e., theintake air in the case of open-cycle embodiments. Upon completion of thescavenging and intake phase of the operating cycle, the continuedrotation of the compressor-expander rotor 17 exposes the rotor chamberinlets to the heating chamber 22 through hot gas inlet port 31. Thisexposure creates an interface or boundary surface 48 between the hightemperature high pressure gas 49 from the heating chamber 22 and therelatively cool partially compressed gas 46 trapped in the rotorchambers. As explained above in connection with interface 42, theinterface 48 is shown as a dot-dash line that depicts a stationaryspatial relationship in a plurality of rotor chambers. This is theposition of interface 48 that would be observed if the interface couldbe marked and the viewer could be positioned above the housing withrespect to FIG. 2. The interface 48 remains at the same positionrelative to the housing 29. This interface is actually moving rapidlythrough the rotor chambers; however, the orientation of the interfacewith respect to the housing is determined by the initial direction ofthe inflow of hot gases (axial in this case) through port 31, the ratioof pressures of the hot gas 49 and the partially compressed gas 46, andthe rotor chamber velocity.

Because of the initial pressure difference across this interface 48,corresponding under design point condiwave 50 is depicted in FIG. 2 as aspatial relationship as described above. The shock wave 50 is stationarywith respect to the housing 29, but moving at high velocity with respectto the rotor chambers I8.

When the shock wave 50 reaches the constricted portion of the rotorchamber which forms the entrance to the rotor chamber converging nozzle38 (or converging-diverging nozzle 41 in an alternate embodiment), thereis generated a reflected shock wave 51. The strength of the reflectedshock wave depends upon the reduced cross sectional area of thenozzle-throat, as compared with the cross sectional area of the rotorchamber, the rotor speed, the hot gas temperature, and the rotor bladeangle. The reflected shock wave-51 moves rapidly through the nowcompressed cool gas 52 and through the incoming hot gases 49 in theupstream direction toward the rotor chamber inlet. It should beunderstood, as was true in the descriptions of the other waves andinterfaces, the reflected shock wave 51 is shown in a spatialrelationship; i.e., stationary with respect to the rotor housing 29,although it is moving at highwelocity through the rotor chambers 18. Therotor chamber velocity, when added to the velocity of the shock wavethrough the chamber, rotates the reflected shock wave vector tothe.p0sition shown in FIG. 2

. where it appears as a constant vector with respect to the rotorhousing.

In the course of its passage through the rotor chamber, this reflectedshock wave 51 further increases the pressure of the cool gases 53 andthe hot gases 54 that lie behind the reflected shock wave. It will benoted that there is a change of orientation of the reflected shock wave51 at the hot gas/cool compressed gas interface 48due to the greatervelocity of the reflected shock wave in the hot gas 49 as compared withthe velocity of the reflected shock wave in the compressed cool gas 52.There is also a change in orientation in the hot gas/compressed cool gasinterface 48 at its intersection with the reflected shock wave 51. Thischange in orientation is due to the reduced flow velocity of thecompressed cool gas 53 and the hot gas 54 through the rotor chamberfollowing the passage of the reflected shock wave 51. It will also benoted that there is another change of orientation of the hotgas/compressed cool gas interface 48 at the nozzle entrance due to thegreater velocity of the gases through the nozzle 38 as compared with thevelocity through the rotor chamber 18.

As a result of the effect of the shock waves 44 and 50,

and the reflected shock wave 51, the pressure of the relatively cool gas53 in the rotor chamber is raised to the maximum pressure attained inthe operating cycle a of the engine. The pressure of the hot gas 54 inthe rotor chamber, which has also been subjected to, the reflected shockwave 51, although raised considerably by the reflected shock wave, willbe somewhat less than that of the cool gas 53 because of the decreasedcompressed cool 'gas 53 in the rotor chamber.

At or near the time that the shock wave50 reaches a nozzle 38 of a rotorchamber, continued rotation of the compressor-expander rotor 17 alignseach rotor chamber nozzle. outlet with the compressed cool gas outletport 32 which leads to cool compressed gas chamber 33 and thence (viaduct 55 around the rotor) to "the intake side of the heating chamber 22.This can be better appreciatedby examining FIG. 4 where port 32, chamber33, duct 55, and heating chamber 22 are all shown, illustrating the pathof the compressed cool gas 53 from rotor chamber nozzle 38 to the intakeside of the heating chamber 22. In one embodiment there is an optionalheat exchanger 56 arranged to use the scavenged or residual hot gas topreheat the highly compressed cool gases passing through duct 55 beforethey enter the heating chamber 22.

As can be further appreciated in FIG. 4, the surplus, highly compressedcool gas 53 or air), which is not required bythe heating chamber 22 tosupport the operaing place), that inlet opening will have been movedopposite, or adjacent, to the wall 60. Hence the rotor chamber inletopening is sealed by the wall 60 of the housing, thus preventing areduction in the pressure of the shock compressed hot gases in the rotorchamber. It should be noted that during the time interval that reflectedshock wave 51 is traversing a rotor chamber 18, the hot gases 49continue to flow through port 31 into rotor chamber 18, therebymaximizing the charge of hot gasesfed into the rotor chamber. At or nearthe time that the hot gas/cool compressed gas interface 48 reaches therotor chamber nozzle outlet this nozzle outlet is sealed by the wall 61,thereby initiating shock wave 62. This closure occurs because of thecontinued rotation of the compressor expander rotor 17. FIG. 2 alsodepicts an expansion wave (or fan) 63-64 bounded by the initial wave 63and the final wave 64. There is a continuous drop in gas pressure acrossthe expansion fan from wave 63 to wave 64. The expansion tion of thepresen'tengine. maybe fed through check valve57 and-pipe 58 toa highpressure storage tank 59- for use in connection with acompressedgas (orair) supply system, or diverted through suitable pipe and hoseconnections to be. used immediately for conventional purposes such assupplying air driven tools and equipment, pneumatic starters, airturbines, automotive tires, pneumatic springs, pneumatic brakes,steering motors, air conditioners, etc.

One important aspect of the expansion and discharge of the high pressurecool gas 53 is the workdone in this process. The expansion and dischargeof the high pressure cool gas 53 from the rotor chambers'l8 through therotor chamber nozzles 38 is in a direction having a relative velocitycomponent opposite to-the direction of movement of thecompressor-expander rotor 17.

The discharge of the relatively cool, highly compressed gas 53 is anefficient work-producing expansion and over a wide range of rotor speedsmakes a contribution to the positive torque generatedywith effective useof the pressure produced by the reflected shock wave 51 in the cool-gas53. This contribution is possible because of the presence of the rotorchamber nozzles 38 which also cause the reflected shock wave 51 andcontrolthe flowof the high pressure cool gas 53 from the rotorchamber.This reaction effect is produced by the converging nozzles 38. or, aswill be discussed hereinafter,

by a converging-diverging nozzle 41, which acts to in, crease thevelocityof the outflowing high pressure cool gas over its velocity inthe rotor chamber.

Reconsider FIG. 2 and it can be determined that the rotor housing isfurther designed so that at or near the time the reflected shock wave 51reaches the rotor chamber inlet, the inlet is sealed by the wall 60. The

reflected shock wave 51 reaches the inlet opening 21 of the rotorchamber (in which the phenomenon is takfan 63-64 is generated becausethe gases in the rotor chamber. are moving at a certain velocitytowardthe rotorchamber nozzle and are suddenly brought to rest at thetime that the rotor chamber inlet is sealed off.

Shock wave 62 is generated in the same way that the EXPANSION While theexpansion or blow down of the highly compressed cool gas 53 from therotor has already been discussed'above, the process of expansion or blowdown of the highly compressed hot gases 54 is normally the mostsignificant contributor to rotor torque and therefore to the work doneby the engine. In this connection consider FIGS. 5 and 6. In FIGS. 5 and6 the blades 27 have been excluded from the greater part of each drawingin order to simplify explanation. It should be understood that thecompressor-expander rotor 17 in each of thedrawings, FIG.-5 and FIG. 6,is fully equipped with blades 27 about its periphery even though suchblades are only partially shown.

Consider FIG. 5 wherein there are shown four stages around the outsideof the rotor by a duct (not shown) a to the reentry port 34R as shown inFIG. 5. Similarly each of the expansion ports is connected by a duct toa reentry. port which is identified with a corresponding identificationnumber; For instance, the expansion port 35E is connected to the reentryport 35R, the expansion port 36E 'is connected to the reentry port 36Rwhile the expansion port 37E is connected to the reentry port 37R. Forthe purposes of orienting FIGS. 5 and 6 with respect to the otherfigures, it will be noted that the bottommost outlet port 32 is the sameas the compressed cool gas outlet port 32 shown in FIGS. 1-4, althoughthe dimensions are shown somewhat differently. Similarly the hot gasinlet port 31 in FIGS. 5 and 6 is the same as the hot gas inlet port 31in FIGS. 1-4

although again the dimensions are somewhat different. It will be notedthat there is a progressive increase in the sizes of expansion ports34E, 35E, 36E and 37E. The same is true of the corresponding reentryports 34R, 35R, 36R and 37R. The progressive increase in the sizes ofthe ports in the upward direction (the direction of rotary motion) inFIGS. and 6 is due to the need to accommodate a progressively largerfraction of the total hot gas flow as well as the expanded volume of thehot gas in each succeeding stage. The expansion ports shown are typicalof those that can be used effectively for progressive expansion stageson a single rotor.

of this engine, providing torque and using reentry to recharge the rotorchambers, which then use the reaction of gases expanding through therotor chamber nozzles to drive the rotor. Final expansion of the hotgas, and rotor reaction thereto, occurs with flow through the nozzleinto the exhaust port 19. This stage is followed by a flow of scavengingcool gas which enters the rotor chambers through the intake port 12.Exposure of the rotor chamber inlet to the cool gas intake chamber 11through the cool gas intake port 12 with openings 14 initiates the nextcycle of operations which follows the same steps as described above.

An alternate embodiment illustrating the expansion process is depictedwith three typical stages of reentry as shown in FIG. 6. Again in FIG.6, in order to have continuity between all the drawings, the typicalcompressed cool gas outlet port 32 and the hot gas inlet port 31 arerepeated within the linearized view as shown before in FIG. 5. In FIG.6, the dimensions and locations of the expansion ports 34E, 35E and37E'as well as the reentry ports 34R, 35R and 37R are chosen so that atdesign point operation the timed arrivals of the principal expansionwaves will contribute to the efficient flow of the expanding hot gas.Expansion port 36E and reentry port 36R are not present in FIG. 6because only three reentry stages are included. As mentioned earlier, anexpansion wave can be caused either by terminating'an existing inflow atthe source or by initiating an outflow to a region of lower pressure.The first type expansion wave brings the moving gas to rest starting atthe point of inflow while the second type expansion wave initiates oraccelerates the flow through an outlet. It should be noted that a shockwave is a single wave of pressure discontinuity, while an expansion waveis a region of continuously changing pressures. The zone covered by suchan expansion wave is sometimes referred to as an expansion fan. Noexpansion fans are shown in FIG. 5. In FIG. 6 the fans are shown forsimplicity as single lines, because each fan angle is very small.

In FIG. 6, the expansion fan 63-64 (described in connection with FIG. 2)is shown for simplicity as a single line 63. It will be recalled thatthis expansion wave was initiated by terminating the existing hot gasinflow through port 31 when the rotor chamber was sealed by the wall 60.Accordingly, expansion fan 63 is of the first type. It should also beunderstood that the expansion fans or waves shown in FIG. 6 are notshown with breaks at the nozzles because the drawing is reduced althoughthese waves would have a break at the throat nozzles similar to thatshown in FIG. 2. As can be seen in FIG. 2, when the rotor chamber nozzleis closed by the wall 61, a shock wave 62 is generated which tends tocancel the pressure reduction effect of expansion fan 63. The combinedeffect of the two is to bring the hot gases in the rotor chamber to atemporary halt. Immediately afterward the rotor chamber nozzle outlet isexposed to expansion port 34E, thereby initiating an expansion wave 65(as shown in FIG. 6) of the second type. As a result there is an outflowof hot gases through the port 34E into a region of lower pressure. Ascan be seen in FIG. 6 expansion wave 65 travels upstream toward the wall60 to a position somewhere between the hot gas entry port 31 and thefirst'reentry port 34R. Since the hot gases have a velocity toward therotor chamber nozzle, they will continue to flow toward the nozzle evenafter the expansion wave 65 reaches the Wall 60 and produce a reflectedexpansion wave 66. However the gases that are bounded by the wall 60,the reflected expansion wave 66 and expansion wave 67, must come to restwith respect to the rotor chamber, whereas the gases that lie betweenreflected expansion wave 66 and the rotor chamber nozzle continue toflow out through the nozzle until reflected expansion wave 66 reachesthe nozzle..As the rotor 17 continues to rotate, the rotor chambernozzle outlets are exposed to expansion port 35E and hence anotherexpansion wave 67 is generated. Expansion wave 67 traverses the rotorchamber and ideally arrives at the rotor chamber inlet coincident withthe rotor chamber inlet exposure to reentry port 34R. The effect ofexpansion wave 67 is to drop the rotor chamber pressure to a lowerlevel. The partially expanded hot gases ducted from the port 34E thusflow through the reentry port 34R and enter the rotor chambers exposedto port 34R.

The higher pressure (but partially expanded) hot gases from the reentryport 34R, as they-enter into the rotor chambers, may, if there is amismatch of pressure and velocity with the adjacent rotor chamber gases,

cause a shock wave or expansion wave to propagate into the rotor chamberwhile the flow continues through the rotor chamber toward the secondexpansion port 35E. Meantime continued rotation of the rotor causes therotor chamber inlet to be closed by the wall 68, thereby generating anexpansion wave 69, resulting from the sudden stoppage of hot gas inflow.Expansion wave 69 traverses the rotor chamberand arrives at the rotorchamber nozzle outlet coincident with the rotor chamber nozzle becomingexposed to expansion port 37E. When the rotor chamber nozzle becomesexposed to expansion port 37E, a second type expansion wave 70 isgenerated and expansion wave 70 travels upstream through the rotorchamber as shown. Ideally at the time that expansion wave 70 arrives atthe wall 68, the inlet of the rotor chamber is exposed to reentry port35R'which is carrying the twice expanded gas ducted from expansion port35E. The effect of expansion wave 70 again reduces the rotor chamberpressure and enables the twice expanded hot gases flowing in from thereentry port 35R to enter the rotor chambers. These inflowing hot gasesmay also propagate a shock or expansion wave into the rotor chamber asdescribed above for the preceding reentry stage. The hot gases flowthrough the rotor chambers into expansion port 37E. As a consequence ofeach expansion and outflow of the hot gases from therotor chamberthrough the rotor chamber nozzles, the reaction produces torque on therotor. The flow of the twice expanded hot gases into the rotor chambersfor a third expansion into expansion port 37E continues. When the rotor17 moves to a point where the rotor chamber inlet is sealed by wall 71,anotherfirst type expansion Wave .72 is generated which traverses therotor chamber toward the rotor chamber rotor chamber nozzle outlet.Expansion wave 72 arrives at the nozzle outlet at the time that thenozzle outlet is exposed to exhaust port 19. Exposure of the rotorchamber nozzle outlet to exhaust port 19 generates expansion wave 73 ina fashion similar to the generation of expansion waves 65, 67 and 70.Expansion wave 73 traverses the rotor chamber upstream and ideallyarrives at the tip of the wall 71 coincident with the exposure of therotor chamber inlet to reentry port 37R. Expansion wave 73 causes thegases in the rotor chamber to undergo another pressure reduction so thatthe gases (which have already been expanded three times) from reentryport 37R enter the rotor chamber and continue to flow through the rotorchamber. In the course of the final stage of expansion and reaction, thehot gases flow through the rotor chamber nozzles into exhaust port 19.After final'expansion of the hot gases into exhaust port 19 the cool gasfrom intake chamber 11 enters the rotor chamber through port 12 withopenings 14, thereby initiating the next cycle of operations aspreviously described. Depending upon the dimensions of the rotor and thenumber of reentry ports provided, there may be shock waves interspersedwith the expansion waves. This is due to the pressure of the reenteringhot gases being different from the pressure of those hot gases alreadyin the rotor chamber. It should be understood that the reentered gasesmaintain the charge of the hot gases in the rotor chambers and provideadditional torque by repeated reaction of said hot gases on the chambernozzles at the different reentry exits, as well as from impulse ofreentering flow of said hot gaseson said rotor blades.

The expansion processes just described, using a numher .of stages'ofreentry. make efficient use of a single rotor to achieve all phases ofoperation of the integral turbo-compressor wave engine. In certaincircumstances it may be necessary to limit the overall dimensions of therotor. In such a case it may be deemed desirable to include only theinitial expansion and/orthe first or the firstfew stages of reentry onthe rotor. The remaining stages of expansion of the partially expandedhot gas, at this point at a reduced temperature, can be easilyaccomplished on a separate turbine wheel instead of accomplishing therepeated expansions through the rotor itself. Such a supplementalturbine wheel can be designed with the same type of blading as thecompressor-expander rotor, to handle the reentry and'ejxpansion stagesin the same manner as described above, or alternatively, thesupplemental turbine wheel can be designed with conventional impulse orreaction blading. The separate turbine wheel may be either mechanicallylinked to the compressor-expander rotor by a shaft,gears, chain, belt,or other means, or it may be free running, subject to the effect of aseparate control device. An example of the'latter would be aturbosupercharger for use at a high altitude by turbo-prop or turbojetaircraft. Upon completion of theexpander by any of the means describedhereinbefore, exposure of the rotor chamber inlet openings to the inputcool gas chamber 11 through port 12 admits an inflow of cool gas forscavenging, thereby initiating the next cycle of operations. Therepetition of the successive phases of the operating cycle, intake andscavenging (exhaust), compression, and expansion (power) may occur as aresult of successive passes of the rotor chambers through the samesector, the case of a single sector engine, or as a result of thepassage of the rotor chambers through the corresponding phases ofsucceeding sectors, in the case of a multisector engine.

IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS OF THE ROTOR CHAMBER NOZZLES The role played by therotor chamber nozzles 38 and i 41 in the present engine is of sufficientimportance to warrant further discussion. The hot gases from the heatingchamber 22 act as the source of energy which effects the rotorcompression process described above. After initiation of the shock wave50 (see FIG. 2) at the hot gas/cool gas interface 48, the hot gas 49 andthe cool gas 52 have the same velocity and the same static pressure oneach. side of the interface. Therefore, the

. cool gas has a higher stagnation pressure than the hot part of thisstagnation pressure difference is needed to cause the flow .of the coolgas back around the flow loop, including passage through regenerativeheat exchanger 56 (FIG. 4) and through the heating chamber 22 whichproduces the hot gas. The remainder of this stagnation pressuredifference may be utilized to increase the pressure of the hot gas inthe rotor chamber, thereby elevating theengine pressure ratio. This isvery effectively accomplishedwith' the converging nozzles 38 (orconverging-diverging nozzles 41 in an alternate embodiment) at theoutlet side of the rotor chambers. These nozzles act as restrictionswhich generate a reflected shock wave 51 which propagates upstreamthrough both the cool gas 52 and the hot gas 49 in the rotor chamber.The nozzles 38 (or 41) also accelerate theoutflowing cool gas and directthe flow in large measure opposite to the direction of the rotorrotation, causing the rotor to do useful work over a wide range ofspeeds. Even at lower gas exit velocities, relative to the rotation ofthe rotor chamber, the nozzles accelerate the cool gases, therebyproducing torque on the rotor. Thehozzles also cause, through thereflected shock wave 51, a higher stagnation pressure in the hot gas 54(i'.e., after the shock wave has passed through the hot gas 4 9) thanwould occur without the reflected shock, i.e., if the cool gas werepermitted to expand without the restriction provided by the nozzles. Thehigher pressure produced in the hot gases by the action of the reflectedshock wave 51 results in a greater density of the hot gas. Thus a rotorof given size can handle a greater weight of gas flow and produce morepower for a given speed than prior art devices. The rotor chambernozzles also permit higher rotor chamber speeds because they providemeans for directing the flow with a greater exit velocity and with agreater tangential component, thereby effectively utilizing the highpressure developed by the reflected shock wave 51 in both the cool gas53 and the hot gas 54.

After entering the high pressure cool gas exit port 32 in the housing,the cool gas has a relatively low absolute velocity (relative to thehousing) but a pressure still sufficiently high to generate a flowthrough chamber 33, through duct 55, through optional regenerative heatexchangers'56, and into the heating chamber 22. After conversion by theaddition of heat from combustion, nuclear reactor, heat exchanger, orother source, the resulting hot gas 49 enters the rotor chambers 18 tocomplete the operating cycle as described above.

The rotor chamber nozzles (see FIGS. 10A and 108) used in this reflectedshock wave engine may be the converging nozzle 38 type or theconverging-diverging nozzle 41 type. In each case the constricted nozzlethroat 38A (converging nozzle) or 39 (convergingdiverging nozzle) ofeither type of nozzle has a smaller cross-sectional area than that ofthe main section of the rotor chamber. However, the exit 40 of aconvergingdiverging nozzle may have a cross-sectional area smaller than,equal to, or greater than that of the rotor chamber. In the case of aconverging-diverging nozzle, the choice of nozzle exit area to rotorchamber area ratio depends upon pressure ratios and the desired exitvelocity for the hot gases, as well as diffuser characteristics desiredin the diverging section during subsonic flows. The particularimportance of a convergingdiverging nozzle is that this type of nozzlepermits efficient supersonic flow of high pressure cool and hot gasesfrom the rotor chambers during some portions of expansion and blowdown,without seriously handicapping subsonic phases of the operating cycle.Subsonic flow of the gas normally will occur during scavenging(exhaust), but may also occur during discharge of the high pressure coolgas from the rotor chambers into the cool compressed air port 32 leadingto the heating chamber 22. Subsonic flow may also occur during somestages of expansion and blowdown of the hot gases. The occurrence ofsupersonic versus subsonic flow in early, intermediate, or finalexpansion stages depends upon the design and operating conditions.Convergingdiverging nozzles have the advantage of behaving as diffusersduring the scavenging phase of the operating During the high pressurephase of the operating cycle, converging-diverging nozzles behave asaccelerators and restrictors of flow of both the shockcompressed coolgas 53 (FIG. 2) and the shockcompressed hot gas 54 and generally performthe same function as the converging nozzles 38discussed above. Thedisadvantage of the converging-diverging nozzle 41 is that there may bea small loss of stagnation pressure in each rotor nozzle during passagethrough some portion of each operating sector. This loss of stagnationpressure occurs in that part of the sector where pressure-temperaturerelationships are such that the converging-diverging nozzle does notfunction as a fully-expanded-flow, supersonic nozzle and the pressure isnot low enough for the diverging section of the nozzle to functioncompletely as a subsonic diffuser. As a result a shock wave is createdin the diverging part of the nozzle, because of failure to achievecomplete expansion to supersonic speeds at the nozzle exit. Thelocations within each operating sector at which this loss of rotorchamber nozzle 41 acts as a diffuser, thereby permitting recovery ofpressure as required for flow through optional regenerative heatexchangers and'exhaust passages.

EFFICIENT OPERATION OVER A RANGE OF DIFFERENT SPEEDS The followingdiscussion illustrates the principle of port control as applied to thecompression process over a range of different speeds and gastemperatures; however, the same principle is applicable to control ofthe location and the size of any of the inlet or outlet ports of theengine. The shock waves 44 and 50, reflected shock wave 51, the coolgas/hot gas interface 42, and the hot gas/cool gas interface 48 mustmove, as previously described with respect to FIG. 2.'In other words,the shock waves .should be ideally contained within the rotor chamberand the gas interfaces should move so as to avoid excessive outflow ofcool low pressure gas 47 from the rotor chambers to exhaust port 19, inthe case of interface 42, and so as to minimize the flow of hot gas 54through the high pressure cool gas port 32 or to minimize the amount ofthe cool compressed gas car- 'ried into the first expansion port 34E ofthe engine, in

the case of interface 48. Thus the purpose of the port controlarrangement, as illustrated for the compression process in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, is to establish the proper spatial relationships among theleading and trailing edges of the appropriate ports (hot gas port 31 andcool gas port 32 in this case) so that the shock wave 50, reflectedshock wave 51, the expansion fan 63-64, and the hot gas/cool interface48 will movein such a way as to duplicate as closely as possible theconfiguration as shown in FIG. 2, regardless of rotor speed and thetemperatures of the operating gases.

In the discussion which follows, the edge of any inlet or outlet portwhich is first exposed to a rotor chamber moving in the normal directionof rotation will be referred to as the leading edge of the port.Similarly that edge of any port which is last exposed to the rotorchamber moving in the normal direction of rotation will be referred'toas the trailing edge of the port.

The present engine provides in its structure a means for achievingefficient operation at various speeds and for stable operation duringthe starting sequence through the use of movable port control blocks 75,76, and 77 as shown in a preferred embodiment, FIG. 3, and similarmovable blocks 78, 79, and as shown in an alternative embodiment, FIG.4. In both cases the control blocks accomplish the same purpose, but theembodiment of FIG. 3 is preferred because of practical designconsiderations. If the range of movement and the location of the controlblocks in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are compared, several differences becomeapparent, some of which are important to note because they influence thepreference for one embodiment over the others. For instance, the controlblock 78 at the trailing edge of hot gas port 31 in the case of theembodiment shown in FIG. 4 must have a greater excursion for a givenrange of speeds and temperatures than does its counterpart, controlblock 76, of FIG. 3. This means that'the guide channels formed bysupports 81 in the embodiment of FIG. 3 can be shorter than thecorresponding ones, guide supports 81, of the alternate embodiment inFIG. 4, with the advantage that these components, movable block andguide supports, located as they are in a high temperature portion of theengine, canbe mechanically simpler, lighter, less subject to temperatureeffects and will project less into the expansion and reentry portion ofthe engine. The complete elimination, in the embodiment of FIG. 3, ofthe control block at the trailing edge of cool compressed gas port 32results in similar advantages, because once again this block would besubjected to the effects of the high temperature gas. The foregoing istrue because the support mechanism must necessarily occupy some spacebetween the cool gas port 32 and the first expansion'port, and thisarrangement would delay the begincoordinated movement of these blocks isthe balancing of the flow of the hot gases through port 31 from the hotgas chamber and the flow of cool compressed gases through port 32 intothe chamber 33 and then into the duct 55. The movable blocks also makepossible the proper positioning of the shock and/or expansion wavesrelative to the-ports at any speed and any hot gas temperature withinthe operating range of the engine.

The positions of the' blocks 75, 76, and 77 of the preferred embodimentof FIG. 3 are mechanically controlled by the cranks 82, 83, and 84,respectively, in conjunction with cams, racks and pinions, or othermechanisms not shown. In each of the embodiments as shown in FIG. I,FIG. 3, and FIG. 4, the motion of the blocks is that of a circular-arc.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the positions ofthe edges of the various ports, for operations at different speed andgas temperatures, can be controlled. alternatively by blocks which areconstrained to move either circumferentially, axially or radially intoand out of the various port openings. There may be either a singlemovable block associated with each edge or there may be aplurality ofsuch blocks to perform'stepwise adjustment of the position of the edge avehicle in traffic. The principal control input for the port blocks isthe engine speed so that a servo system is required which establishes afixed basic position for each block as a function of the engine speed.Such sysl8 tems are called followers or position servos and are commonlyapplied in industrial control systems.

Deviations from the basic setting may be necessary in order tocompensate for a broad range of temperatures of the hot high pressuregases. For example, it is conceivable that a form of the present enginecould be used under conditions wherein a range of power output isdesired at some specific speed setting or settings. The

change in power output at some constant speed is obtained by eitherincreasing or decreasing the temperature and the pressure of the hothigh pressure gases 49 that enter the rotor 17 from the heating chamber22. Again the vehicular engine is a good example of such asituation. Thetemperature compensation portion of the control system would in suchcases furthermodify the position of the blocks 75, 76, and 77 asbasically determined by the speed control in order to provide themaximum torque for'a given hot gas temperature.

It has been determined that the proper positions of the blocks 75, 76,and 77'of FIG. 3 and in like fashion the proper'positions of blocks78,79, and 80 of FIG. 4, bear an approximately linear relationship toeach other as a function of engine speed; consequently, the cranks 82,83, .and 840i" FIG. 3, or similar cranks85, 86, and 87 of FIG. 4 thatmove the blocks may in many cases be mechanically interconnected witheach other so that the action of a single control element, such as ahydraulic or pneumatic cylinder (not shown), or an electric motor (notshown), can actuate all of the blocks upon command from the temperaturecompensated speed control.

There are applications, ofcourse, where it may be feasible to permitmanual adjustment of the control blocks either in some coordinatedfashion or each separately in order to optimize the performance of theengine at a particular speed, thus dispensing with automatic controls.

The positions ofthe blocks'75, 76, and 77 of FIG. 3 are set so'that'fora specified rotor-speed and a specified hot gas temperature the hotgas/cool gas interface .48 will reach the outlet of rotor chamber nozzle38 at or near the instant that nozzle 38 comes opposite the trailingedgeof cool gas port 32. This position of the movable blocks prevents theoutflow of the hot gas through port 32 into chamber 33 and on into duct55. At some combinations of rotor speed and hot gas temperature'not allof the cool high pressure gas in the rotor flows from the rotor into thehigh pressure cool gas chamber 33, but is'carried by the rotor into theexpansion portion of the engine. Thesituation arises whenever theexpansion fan 63-64, initiated by the l closing of port 31 by the edge88 of control block 76,

crosses interface 48 before the latter reaches the cool I gas port 32.

I the nozzle exit must be exposed to the high pressure cool gas port 32because the reflected shock wave 51 has now compressed the cool gas tothe maximum pressure in the cycle compatible with highest.overall'jengine efficiency. The compressed cool gas now expands throughthe rotor chamber nozzle, passes through port 32, and'enters the coolgas chamber 33 and duct 55 through which it flows, ultimately reachingthe heating chamber 22.

It is now apparent that the function of these illustrative controlblocks is to adjust the leading and trailing edges of the ports 31 and32 so that the timing of the shock wave 50, reflected shock wave 51, andthe hot gas/cool gas interface 48 remains substantially the same asshown in FIG. 2 for all combinations of rotor speeds and hot gastemperatures so that the engine will operate at the greatest possibleefficiency at all speeds and power settings. The proper positioning ofthe control blocks assures minimum mixing of the hot and cool gaseseither within the rotor chambers or in the cool compressed gas chamber33. Thus the positioning of the blocks makes possible the most efficientoperation of the engine throughout a wide range of speeds within whichcontrol of the shock wave 50, reflected shock wave 51, and hot gas/coolgas interface 48 can be maintained.

48, and correspondingly the fixed leading edge of port Toachieve themaximum efficiency, regardless of mechanical complexity, similar movableblocks may be placed at the leading and trailing edgesof all inlet andoutlet ports. For example, such a movable block (not shown) at thetrailing edge of exhaust port 19 or at the trailing edge of inlet port12 (with openings 14), or at the trailing edges of both, can be used toadjust the relative position of shock wave 44 so as to avoid backflowinto the intake chamber. A similar movable block at the leading edge ofinlet port 12 (openings 14) will also provide flexibility in control ofscavenging by permitting the cool gas/hot gas interface 42 to beinitiated later or earlier in the engine cycle. thereby avoidingoverscavenging (excess flow of cool gas into exhaust), andunderscavenging (failure to expel all exhaust gas through exhaust port19).

Similarly. in those embodiments in which the stator dimensions providesufficient space for their inclusion, such movable blocks at the leadingand trailing edges of hot gas expansion ports 34E, 35E, 36B, and 37E;re-

entry ports 34R, 35R, 36R, and 37R; and at the leading and trailingedges of exhaust port 19 will permit selective control of hot gas flowduring the expansion stages in order to optimize the expansion processover a wide range of rotor speeds and gas temperatures. The blocks inthe reentry ports, expansion ports and ports 12 and 19 are not shownhowever the fabrication and role is so similar to the blocks shown inports 31 and 32 that no furtherexplanation is necessary and the drawingsare usefully simplified without such blocks being shown.

In FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 two extreme positions of the control blocks areshown, the one in bold lines indicating the setting for the highestrotor speed and the one in dashed lines indicating the setting for thelowest speed and idling conditions. In these two embodiments utilizingcircumferential movement of the blocks, the position of each block iscontinuously variable between these extreme positions. In FIG. 3 andFIG. 4 the positions defined are only approximate but do indicate therange of motion necessary with respect to the size of the hot gas port31 and the cool gas port 32. During starting. the blocks 75, 76, and 77of FIG. 3, (or the blocks 78, 79 and 80 of FIG. 4), will be in thelowspeed position as defined by the dashed lines.

The edge 89 of block 75 in the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 3 maybe taken as the reference edge for starting the shock wave 50 and theinterface 31 in the alternate embodiment of FIG. 4 serves the samepurpose. It should be apparent that in the compression process it is therelative position of the port blocks which is important, so that thechoice of which, if any, of the four edges of ports 31 and 32 is to befixed for any particular engine depends largely upon the mechanicaldesign aspects of the engine.

The control block configuration as shown in FIG. 3 employs three blocksalthough one of these, block 76 at the trailing edge of port 31, moves avery small amount in comparison to the movement of the remaining blocksand 77. Consequently, it would be possible to eliminate block 76 in anengine of simpler design but with some sacrifice of performance. In thiscase the trailing edge of port 31 could be taken as the reference edgefor the positioning of the other control blocks.

It should not beinferred that a fixed reference port edge is necessaryto the operation of the engine. It is conceivable that four controlblocks could be employed in order to position both the leading andtrailing edges of ports 31 and 32. In such a situation there is areference position for each of the blocksat some pre-- determined speed"and hot gas temperature which serves as a point of departure for allsubsequent motions that are demanded by the control system while i theengine is operating.

All previous discussion of the engine has been concerned with operationat some specific speed and power setting within efficient limits. In allcases it has been assumed that equilibrium conditions have been attainedin the low pressure cool gas chamber 11, the heating chamber 22, and thehigh pressure cool gas chamber 33, as well as in the exhaust chamber 20.

Once equilibrium is attained with respect to pressure erates aspreviously described. However, there are transition states duringperiods of speed changes or power changes (or both simultaneously) inwhich the pressure and temperature of the gases in the chambers are notin a steady or equilibrium state.

If it is assumed that the engine is running at some equilibrium speedand power output and heat is suddenly added (e.g., fuel flow isincreased), several momentarily unbalanced conditions arise: l the gastemperature in heating chamber 22 increases, and compression wavespropagate upstream and downstream. As a result the pressure level in therecirculating flow loop including the heating chamber 22, port 31, coolcompressed gas port 32 and chamber 33, and within the exposed rotorchambers is increased; (2) this pressure increase strengthens shock wave50 and reflected shock wave 51 which compress the cool gas in the rotorchambers to a higher pressure and cause the hot gas/- c'ool gasinterface 48 to move faster; (3) the pressure of the hot gases 49 and 54and cool gases 52 and 53 in exposed rotor chambers 18 of rotor 17increases, the torque increases because of higher velocity outflow ofgases through nozzles 38, and the rotor speed tends to increase until anew equilibrium condition is reached with respectto the heat supply andthe engine load.

The conditions in the heating chamber, the cool gas chamber, and theexposed rotor chambers can be described in analogous fashion for thesituation in which the engine is running at some fixed speed and poweroutput and there is a sudden decrease of heat input .Cross' sectionalarea of rotor chamber 2.1 (e.g., reduction'of fuel flow) to heatingchamber 22. The momentarily unstable conditions which occur becuase ofthe reduced heat input lead to the following chain of events: (1)expansion waves in the heating chamber propagate upstream anddownstream, thus decreasing the pressure of the recirculating flow loop,including the heating chamber 22, hot gas port 31, cool gas port 32and'cool gas chamber 33 duct 55, and ex posed rotor chambers 18; (2)this pressure decrease results in a decrease in strength of. shock wave50 and reflected shock wave 51, a lowering of the pressure of both thehot gases 49 and 54 and the cool gases 52 and 53 in the rotor chambers,with consequent reduction of the speed of interface 48; (3) the reducedpressure and temperature of the hot gases results in lower gas exitvelocities and lower torque. Thus the rotor speed decreases until a newequilibrium is reached with respect to the heat supply and the engineload.

Now it should be understood that the present engine will operate asdescribed in connection with FIG; 2, whether or not the movable blocksare properlyset, but if they are not properly set the engine will simplynot operate at its maximum efficiency. For instance if the rotor isslowed down because of load and the fuel input rate is not increasedthere is likely to be some hot compressed gas 54 exhausted through port32 into chamber 33 which would be an inefficient operation. In asomewhat similar manner if the rotor were speeded up because ofreduction of load and the fuel intake remained constant and theblockswere not-reset, there is a likelihood that some cool compressedgases would get dumped into expansion port 34E which would beinefficient. Be that as it may under either set of circumstances (orother combinations of temperature and fuel rate) above the engine willoperate well on the compression and reaction principles describedearlier. It should also be understood that the specific values of theengine parameters are not set forth because there can be as many sets ofvalues as there are applications or uses of the present engine and thespecific dimensions would vary'accordingly. One setof values is setRotor diameter across mean height of blades Blade heights and portheights Cross sectional area of nozzle measured from plane of rotationblocks, 75, 76, and 77 (FIG. 3) and 78, 79, and 80 (FIG. 4) should beset in the positions suitable for low speed operation as described aboveand as represented graphically by dashed linesjThe integral starterforthis type of system uses energy from a storage tank 59 (see FIG. 4)which contains the high pressure cool gas which has been previouslyextracted from the cool gas duct via check valve 57 and pipe 58, withperhaps some additional compression by auxiliary compressor 97. Foranopen cycle system, with a combustion type heating chamber, or other opencycle systems-with a non-combustion heat source, the storage tank wouldnormally contain compressed air. For closed cycle systems withnon-combustion-heat sources, the storage tank would contain a supply ofthe normal circulating gas used in the operation of the engine. In thepresent embodiment the compressed cool gas in the storage tank 59 isreleased by the start valve 98 to flow through the .duct 99 to thepressure regulator 100 which releases the cool gas at a constantpressure for a short interval of time sufficient to start the engine. Anorifice may be used for pressure regulation since, for the greaterpartof the starting cycle, the pressure ratio across the orifice chokes theflow in sucha way as to accomplish adequate pressure regulation. Thepressure regulated flow of cool gas from the tank 59 proceeds via theduct 55 to the region between the ignition device 25 and the fuel inputdevice 24. The flow of starting gas is forced in the normal direction bythe check valve 101, which is actuated to the blocking position, shownby dotted lines in FIG. 4, by action of controller 26. While it is notshown, it will be assumed that there into the heating chamber in theneighborhood of the operating fuel'injector 24. The operating fuel isforceull .i usst dynd rpr ssats s fs s tt sa mal4.00 inches 1.00 inches.3 0 square inches .15 square inches Port 12 (pitch line length) 4.32inches Port 31 do. 1.80 inches (minimum opening .55 inches) w ll 60 d2.24 inches Port 34R do. .66 inches Wall 68 'do. 1.39 inches Port 35Rdo. 1.56 inches Wall 71 do. 199 inches Port 37R do. 276 inches Wall .92do. 1.10 inches Port 32 do. 1.32 inches (minimum opening .40 inches)Wall 93 do. .25 inches Port 34E do. .66 inches Wall 94 do. .19 inchesPort 35E do. 1.56 inches Wall 95 do. .19 inches Port 37E do. 276 inches.Wall 96 do. .19 inches Port 19 do. 7.56 inches Entrance angle of blades(rotor chamber) I I measured from plane ,of rotation 40 degrees- Exitangle of blades (convergent nozzles) 20 degrees v "1227 I I I STARTINGOF THE suocigwAvE ENGINE a 23 tion of a spray of small droplets. Whenthe ignition flame 102 has spread to the injected fuel from the fuelinjector 24, mixed with the compressed air from storage tank 59, therewill be created by continuous combustion a substantial quantity of hightemperature, high pressure gas in the heating chamber 22. In the case ofa non-combustion heat source, no igniter is required and the compressedgas flows directly to the heat source of the heating chamber 22 therebycreating a substantial quantity of high temperature high pressure gas.The high temperature high pressure gas from the heating chamber 22 flowsthrough the hot gas port 31 where it impinges upon the rotor blades 27to initiate rotation of rotor 17. Rotation of the rotor 17 andcorresponding action of the blower causes the cool gas 47 to be broughtin through the intake chamber 11, through the cool gas port 12, and theninto the rotor chambers 18, thereby sweeping out any residual exhaustgas from the previous operations. The rotation of the rotor 17 causesthe closure of the nozzle exits 38 (or 40) bringing the incoming coolgas to rest, thereby initiating the shock wave 44 (initially weak butgathering strength during start up procedure) described earlier inconnection with the discussion of FIG. 2. Continued rotation of therotor exposes the cool gas in the rotor chambers to the high temperaturegases 49 from the heating chamber, thereby creating the hot gas/cool gasinterface 48 (see FIG. 2). The shock wave 50 is also initiated asdescribed earlier and this further compresses the cool gas 52. The rotorspeed increases due to the effect of the flow of hot gas 49 impinging onthe rotor blades 27 and the reaction to the gas outflow through thenozzles 38 and through the cool compressed gas port 32 into chamber'33.Simultaneously the reflected shock wave 51 is generated, furtherincreasing the pressure of the shock compressed cool gas 53 whichrapidly reaches a higher pressure than that of' the gases in the heatingchamber 22. These cool compressed gases exit through port 32, travelthrough the chamber 33 and duct 55 (see FIG. 4) and impinge on the checkvalve 101. When the. pressure of the compressed cool gas is high enough,the swing type valve 10! moves from its closed starting position (shownby dotted lines) to its open operating position (shown by solid lines),which allows free flow of the cool com-,

pressed gas 53 from the cool compressed gas outlet port 32,throughchamber 33 and through the duct 55 back into the heating chamber22. The use of the swing type check valve 101 is only illustrative, asthere are many other means of back flow control well. known to thoseskilled in the art; When the swing type check valve opens tov permitnormal flow of shock compressed cool gas 53 into the heating chamber 22,the starting sequence has been completed and the rotor 17 will proceedto increase its speed. although because of the low speed the engine maynot be operating at very high efficiency at this time. As the rotorincreases its speed, the illustrative movable blocks 75, 76, and 77(FIG. 3) or movable blocks 78, 79 and 80 (FIG. 4) are repositioned,thereby opening the ports 31 and 32 wider. If it is the intention to getthe speed of the engine up to the design point or optimal speed, thenthese movable blocks will be moved into the positions shown by the solidline in FIG. 4. Hence, the engine is started withthe compressed air (orother gas) which has been previously stored in the tank 59 and thenheated for starting by passing it through the hatag'aiaamta 22. out.

ously during the start up procedure the efficiency of the engine islow,'but improves, reaching maximum effciency for the proper settings ofthe movable blocks in the port openings.

A second sequence of events occurs to replenish the supply of compressedcool gas in the tank 59. For compactness the storage tank will normallycontain gas at a pressure above the maximum operating pressure of thereflected shock wave engine. However, in the course of starting, thepressure of the stored compressed gas in the tank 59 may drop below thepressure of the operating compressed cool gas 53. Check valve 57prevents the flow of the stored gas in the tank 59 into the duct 55.However, when the pressure in the duct 55 exceeds that of the storagetank the check valve 57 will open to permit a limited flow of compressedcool gas 53 into the storage'tank 59 in order to replenish the supply ofcompressed gas which has been used in the start up operation. When thepressures of It should be noted in FIG. 4 that there are vanes 13,optionally rotatable. These pre-rotation vanes in the inlet port 12provide the flexibility of entry angle of cool gas 47 from chamber 11required for the most efficient operation at all speeds, includingidling and starting. If the vanes are properly positioned, the cool airwhich enters the rotor chambers does so at an angle which is compatiblewith the speed of the rotor and relative velocity of the exhaust gasesin the rotor chamber. If the vanes are positioned as shown in FIG. 4,the entering gases have a component in the direction that the rotor istraveling, indicating that the relative velocity of the gas in the rotorchamber is somewhat less than the rotor speed. The amount ofpre-rotation of the gases entering from chamber 11 is ideally such as toproduce a relative velocity in the rotor chambers which just matchesthat of the hot gases in the rotor, in which case there will be no shockwaves or expansion fans initiated attheaas,intqrtessya. a

Although not illustrated, the engine can also be started by directcranking (or rotation) of the rotor by some mechanical means, such as anelectric motor, provided that the blading arrangement of the rotor issuch as to produce circulation of the gas through the loop consisting ofhot gas chamber 22, the rotor 17, the cool gas chamber 33, and duct 55.This circulation must-be in the same direction, of course, as the normaloperating flow. Such a circulation of the gas can be obtained only ifthe gas, upon leaving the rotor by way of the nozzles 38, has a greatertangential component of velocity in the direction of rotation than ithad when it entered the rotor from the hot gas chamber 22. Unless thiscondition is established, the rotor cannot perform positive work uponthe circulating gas, and thus no pressure increase in the cool gaschamber 32 over that in the hot gas chamber 22 is possible.

1. In a turbo-compressor engine having a rotor with at least one chambertherein, said chamber having an inlet and an outlet, a method ofcompressing gasses in and expanding gasses from said chamber in order todrive said rotor comprising the steps of: a. rotating said rotor; b.introducing cool gas which initially has a relatively low pressure intosaid inlet of said chamber; c. creating a first shock wave at saidoutlet of said chamber, which shock wave is directed toward said inletto compress said cool gas in said chamber a first time; d. introducinghot gas having a relatively high pressure into said inlet of saidchamber to create a second shock wave which is directed toward saidoutlet to further compress said cool gas; e. creating a third shock waveat a given location within said chamber, which location leaves asufficient distance in said chamber to said outlet to permit directinggas flow from said location and which third shock wave is directedtoward said inlet of said chamber to further compress said cool gas andcompress said hot gas; and f. removing said compressed gasses from saidlocation, through said sufficient distance to said outlet, in adirection having a component which is opposite to the direction saidrotor is rotating to thereby drive said rotor.
 2. In a turbo-compressorengine having a rotor with at least one chamber therein, said chamberhaving an inlet and an outlet, a method of compressing gases in andexpanding gases from said chamber in order to drive said rotorcomprising the steps of: a. rotating said rotor; b. introducing a firstgas into said chamber which initially has a relatively low pressure; c.introducing a second gas, having a relatively high pressure, into saidinlet of said chamber to create a shock wave which is directed towardsaid outlet to compress the gas in said chamber; d. creating a reflectedshock wave at a given location within said chamber, which locationleaves sufficient distance in said chamber to said outlet to permitdirecting gas flow from said location and which reflected shock wave isdirected toward said inlet of said chamber to further compress said gasin said chamber; and e. removing said compressed gases from saidlocation through said sufficient distance to said outlet, in a directionhaving a component which is opposite to the direction said rotor isrotating to thereby drive said rotor.
 3. An integral turbo-compressorwave engine having a rotor means and a stator means, which employsincident and reflected shock waves to compress gases which are laterdirected in expansion to provide torque, comprising in combination: a.rotor means including a plurality of rotor chambers formed integraltherewith and formed to hold gases therein; each of said rotor chambershaving an inlet opening and an outlet opening; b. stator means havingfirst, second and third gas handling means, said stator means formed tosupport said rotor means for rotation about its axis; c. said first gashandling means formed and disposed to introduce first gases into saidrotor chambers; d. said second gas handling means formed and disposed tointroduce second gases, having a higher pressure than said first gases,through said inlet openings into each of said rotor chambers whereby anincident shock wave will be generated, in response to the difference ofpressure between said second and first gases, in each of said rotorchambers with the presence of said first gases therein, to compressgases disposed behind said incident shock wave; e. each of said rotorchambers further including reflected shock wave generating meansdisposed at a location with said chamber whereby, with the presence ofgases within said rotor chamber, a reflected shock wave will begenerated in response to said incident shock wave impinging saidreflected shock wave generating means thereby compressing the gasesdisposed behind said reflected shock wave; f. each of said rotorchambers further including directing means, connected between saidreflected shock wave generating means and said outlet opening, to directsaid last-mentioned compressed gases from said location through saidoutlet opening to provide torque to said rotor means; and g. said thirdgas handling means formed to receive said gases from each of said rotorchambers through said outlet openings in response to said directing ofsaid compressed gas to provide torque.
 4. An integral turbo-compressorwave engine according to claim 1 wherein said third gas handling meanshas wall means disposed adjacent said outlet openings and wherein saidfirst gas handling means is formed to introduce first gases through saidinlet openings into each of said rotor chambers and wherein said thirdgas handling means has exhaust gas handling means, whereby any gasesbeing carried by said rotor chambers will be substantially scavengedinto said exhaust gas handling means and whereby as each of said rotorchambers rotates past said wall means an incident shock wave will begenerated which will be directed toward the inlet opening of said rotorchamber.
 5. An integral turbo-compressor wave engine according to claim4 wherein said second gas handling means includes a hot gas inlet portmeans disposed adjacent to said inlet opening of each of said rotorchambers as it rotates thereby and wherein said first gas handling meansincludes a cool gas inlet port means, disposed adjacent to said inletopening of each of said rotor chambers as it rotates thereby and furtherdisposed to introduce said first gas into said rotor chambers beforesaid second gas handling means introduces said second gas, and whereinsaid first gas is relatively cool gas, and wherein said third gashandling means includes at least cool compressed gas outlet port meansto receive said first gases which have been compressed by said incidentshock waves and said reflected shock wave and hot compressed gasexpansion port means to receive sAid second gases which have beencompressed by said reflected shock wave and wherein each of saidlast-mentioned means is disposed adjacent to said outlet opening of eachof said rotor chambers as it rotates thereby.
 6. An integralturbo-compressor wave engine according to claim 5 wherein there isfurther included start-up means connected to said hot gas inlet port. 7.An integral turbo-compressor wave engine according to claim 6 whereinsaid start-up means includes a compressed gas reservoir connected tosaid compressed cool gas outlet port.
 8. An integral turbo-compressorwave engine according to claim 3 wherein said second gas handling meansincludes a hot gas inlet port means to introduce said second gas andfurther includes hot gas re-entry port means and wherein said third gashandling means includes hot gas expansion port means and wherein saidsecond gas is relatively hot gas and wherein there is further includedhot gas re-entry means coupling both of said last-mentioned port meansand wherein said hot gas expansion port means is disposed to receive hotgases from said outlet openings of said rotor chambers and furtherwherein said hot gas re-entry port means is disposed to direct any hotgases passing through said hot gas re-entry means into each of saidinlet openings of said rotor chambers after said rotor chambers havebeen rotated past said hot gas inlet port means, whereby the charge ofthe hot gas is maintained to provide additional torque on said rotormeans.
 9. An integral turbo-compressor wave engine according to claim 3wherein said second gas is relatively hot gas and wherein said secondgas handling means includes hot gas inlet port means and furtherincludes means to provide hot gases connected to said hot gas inlet portmeans.
 10. An integral turbo-compressor wave engine according to claim 9wherein said first gas is relatively cool gas and wherein said third gashandling means includes cool gas circulating means having an inletopening and an outlet opening and wherein said inlet opening of saidcool gas circulating means is disposed to receive gases from said outletopenings of said rotor chambers and further wherein said outlet openingof said cool gas circulating means is disposed to direct cool compressedgas passing therethrough to said means to provide hot gases to said hotgas inlet port.
 11. An integral turbo-compressor wave engine accordingto claim 9 wherein said second gas handling means includes first movablewall means movably mounted and disposed therein to enable said firstmovable wall means to variably define the size and location of said hotgas inlet port means.
 12. An integral turbo-compressor wave engineaccording to claim 3 wherein said first gas handling means includes acool gas inlet port means and wherein said cool gas inlet port meansincludes pre-rotation blades which enable cool gas passing through saidcool gas inlet port to enter said rotor chambers at an angle which iscompatible with the speed of said rotor means.
 13. An integralturbo-compressor wave engine according to claim 3 wherein said first gasis relatively cool gas and wherein said first gas handling meansincludes cool gas inlet port means and wherein said cool gas inlet portmeans further includes movable wall means movably mounted and disposedtherein to variably define the size and location of said cool gas inletport means.
 14. An integral turbo-compressor according to claim 3wherein said first gas is relatively cool gas and wherein said third gashandling means includes a compressed cool gas outlet port means andwherein said compressed cool gas outlet port means includes movable wallmeans movably mounted and disposed therein to variably define the sizeand location of said compressed cool gas outlet port means.
 15. Anintegral turbo-compressor wave engine according to claim 3 wherein saidfirst gas is relatively cool gas and wherein said second gas isrelatively hot gas and wherein said first gas hanDling means includes acool gas inlet port means and wherein said second gas handling meansincludes a hot gas inlet port means and wherein said third gas handlingmeans includes a cool compressed gas outlet port means and wherein thereis further included first, second and third movable wall meansrespectively mounted in said cool gas inlet port means, said hot gasinlet port means, and said cool compressed gas outlet port means torespectively vary the size and location of said three last-mentionedport means.
 16. An integral turbo-compressor wave engine according toclaim 3 wherein said first gas is relatively cool gas and said secondgas is relatively hot gas and wherein there is further included aplurality of hot gas re-entry means each having a hot gas expansion portmeans and a hot gas re-entry port means, each of said hot gas expansionport means disposed in said third gas handling means and each of saidhot gas re-entry port means disposed in said second gas handling means,each of said hot gas expansion port means further disposed at adifferent location with respect to the periphery of said rotor meansthan every other hot gas expansion port means, and each of said hot gasre-entry port means further disposed at a different location withrespect to the periphery of said rotor means than every other hot gasre-entry port means.
 17. An integral turbo-compressor wave engineaccording to claim 16 wherein each hot gas expansion port means and eachhot gas reentry port means further includes movable wall means movablymounted therein whereby each of said last mentioned movable wall meansis disposed to variably define the size and location of its associatedhot gas expansion port means or its hot gas reentry port means.
 18. Anintegral turbo-compressor wave engine according to claim 16 wherein eachsucceeding one of said plurality of hot gas reentry means has a largercross section than a preceding hot gas reentry means wherein precedingis considered in the direction contrary to the rotation of said rotormeans.
 19. An integral turbo-compressor wave engine according to claim 3wherein each of said directing means is a convergent-divergent nozzle.20. An integral turbo-compressor wave engine according to claim 3wherein each of said directing means is a convergent nozzle.
 21. Anintegral turbo-compressor wave engine according to claim 3 wherein eachof said rotor chambers is helicoidally shaped.
 22. An integralturbo-compressor wave engine according to claim 3 wherein each of saidrotor chambers is spirally shaped.
 23. An integral turbo-compressor waveengine according to claim 3 wherein each of said rotor chambers ishelically shaped.
 24. An integral turbo-compressor wave engine accordingto claim 3 wherein each of said rotor chambers is shaped withsubstantially straight sides and oriented substantially radially.
 25. Anintegral turbo-compressor wave engine according to claim 3 wherein eachof said rotor chambers is shaped with substantially straight sides andoriented substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of said rotor.26. An integral turbo-compressor wave engine according to claim 3wherein said first gas handling means includes a cool gas inlet portmeans and wherein said second gas handling means includes a hot gasinlet port means and wherein said third gas handling means includes anexhaust gas port means, a cool compressed gas outlet port means and ahot compressed gas outlet port means and wherein the disposition of saidlast-mentioned five port means around said stator means with respect tothe periphery of said rotor means constitute one sector of said statormeans.
 27. An integral turbo-compressor wave engine according to claim26 wherein said single sector is non-symmetrically located in saidstator means with respect to said rotor means.
 28. An integralturbo-compressor wave engine in accordance with claim 26 wherein thereis a plurality of said sectors disposed in said stator means.
 29. ANintegral turbo-compressor wave engine in accordance with claim 28wherein said sectors are symmetrically located within said stator meanswith respect to said rotor means.
 30. An integral turbo-compressor waveengine according to claim 28 wherein said sectors are non-symmetricallylocated in said stator means with respect to said rotor means.